Love and Legend
by Elfin1993
Summary: My sequel to 'My Love Lies Bleeding"/"Hearts at Stake". After two years of relative peace and quiet, the Drake's and Lucy thought the storm was over. But when Lucy's 18th birthday unleashes her hidden power, nothing is the same. LucyXNicholas
1. Prologue: 2 years later

**Authors note: This is set 2 years after the end of My Love Lies Bleeding, ignoring the Epilogue and any sequels. I wasn't fully satisfied with how the story was finished, and seeing as the rest of the Drake Chronicles are focused on other characters, I decided to continue it myself, focusing more on the relationship between Lucy and Nicholas.**

**Hope you enjoy it and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, myths or story shown in the Drake Chronicles. If only I did... *sigh***

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Love and Legend  
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**Prologue – 2 Years Later**

**Lucy's POV**

2 years since the infamous showdown between the court of Lady Natasha and the Drakes. Two years since my best friend nearly died. Two years since I realized I was in love Nicholas Drake.

And it's been a fast two years. After the fall of Lady Natasha, the all powerful über bitch of he vampire court, the entire vampire population had been certain Solange would take her place, fulfilling the prophecy and uniting the many vampire clans after centuries of conflict. As her best friend I knew better. Solange never wanted to be a queen. In a century or two maybe but she was just sixteen!

Her refusal to lead led to huge power struggle, with each clan thinking they had the best person for the job. Every clan that was, except the Drakes, who all had little urge to involve themselves in the dispute. Instead Liam - ever the pragmatic negotiator - made all the clans sign a treaty saying the Drakes would accept whoever the eventual leader was in return for the promise that no one outside the Drake family was allowed on their territory (Which extended to the local town, my school and my house) without the permission and supervision of one of the Drakes. Use of any form of drugs or pheromones to gain entry was also a violation of the treaty. The last point was mainly for my benefit, what with my accidentally freeing an assassin sent to kill Solange after the little bastard squirts me with Hypnos.

Once all the clans had signed the treaty, the Drake's and I returned home, expecting everything to be back to normal. And for the first couple of weeks it was. My parents were still away, so I stayed in the Drake's guest room, just in case. The first few days were awkward. Although none of Drake's were surprised by me and Nicholas suddenly becoming an item, they still found it weird when we were couple-ey around them; to be honest so did I. Solange was the worst, she couldn't even be in the same room as Nicholas and me if were anywhere within a meter of each other. It wasn't that she was against us being together, she just needed time to adjust to the change. In the meantime I had to try and split my time between the two, which was exhausting when both of them were strictly nocturnal and I couldn't sleep during the day. In the limited eight hours or so that I managed to stay awake at night I had to try and be a good best friend and help Solange adjust to being a vampire _and_ try to be a good girlfriend. By the end of the first week I was so exhausted that I ended up passing out in the hallway on my way from Nicholas' room to Solange's. The next day I'd woken up in the guest room with a note from Nicholas on my bedside table saying:

"_Lucky,_

_This is getting ridiculous! I know you're just trying to keep everyone happy, but killing yourself in the process is not the way to do it. So me, you and Solange need to talk tonight and then you are going to bed at semi-decent time._

_Love you (even if you are an idiot sometimes)_

_Nicky"_

He'd been right, of course, but he didn't know Solange as well as I did. With the way things were at the moment, there was no way we would be able to come up with a compromise that would be satisfying to all parties. So I decided to take action. I needed to find a way of keeping Solange happy so that I could spend some time with Nicholas. And what was that? The boy who had saved her life then run away like the scared little girl he was. The boy who despite his hatred of vampires still loved Solange enough to help her. Kieran Black. And the idiot hadn't even changed his phone number!

"For the last time mum, I don't need –" Kieran's angry voice began.

"Really, is your mum the only person who calls you?" I asked. There was a short pause; I could almost hear the tiny cogs in his brain trying to figure out who it was.

"Lucy?" he asked eventually

"Well done genius!" I replied, before continuing, to tired for the niceties. "Look, you need to talk to Solange and make up with her. I thought you liked her! An explanation is the very least you owe the poor girl."

Kieran sighed and responded in a tired voice, "I know, I just… I don't know what I can say to her. 'I'm sorry I nearly got you killed and I'm sorry I ran off without saying a word!'"

"Well yes your actions weren't quite perfect but I know she'd forgive you if you just saw her and said you were sorry! It's not like you've been gone months, it's only been a week! Not even that really!" My voice was getting a little high; I was worried he was going to say no and I had no other plan.

"Fine, but I can't come to the farm, I pretty certain Helena would kill me." He said

"No, well at least not on your own, but if I was there and Nicholas was there…" I trailed off, finalizing my plan.

"And how exactly do you plan on persuading Nicholas to let me in the farm and see his baby sister who nearly died a few days ago." Kieran asked sceptically.

"Oh trust me, I can persuade him and anyway, you may have nearly had her killed but you also helped to save her. Anyway, I've got to go; they'll be waking up soon. I'll meet you at 9 at the drug store." I said, before quickly adding, "oh and by the way, if you chicken out and aren't there, Helena will be the least of your problems." I hung up before he could reply, and made my way back up to Nicholas' room with a cup of tea. It was nearly 6.30pm and the sun would be setting soon.

I opened the door to his room and tiptoed over to his desk. I placed the mug of tea on the table and sat on the chair bringing my legs up, resting my knees on one of the arms and using them as a make-shift table to rest my mug on. I considered turning the computer on but was worried it would wake Nicholas up, and he was grumpy when he hadn't gotten a proper sleep. So instead I simply sat, sipping my tea and letting my gaze drift around the room. After a few minutes I heard a small moan coming from the direction of the bed.

"If you're going to just sit there and do nothing you might as well come and lie down" he mumbled not even moving from his position.

"I need to finish my tea." I said quietly, knowing that he would never consider that a proper reason. And sure enough as soon as I'd said it he moaned and pulled himself up, glaring at me.

"You can make another cup of tea later!" He said in an exasperated tone. My expression must have been pretty unimpressed; his face softened and he continued in a gentle voice, "You know I can't sleep if I can smell you're this close but not in my arms."

His saying this made my stomach flutter, and I gently put down my mug and moved across the room to lye down next to him. Nicholas lay back down and wrapped his arms around by waist, pulling me close against him and burying his face in my hair, sighing contentedly as he did so. I relaxed slightly and allowed my eyes to drift shut, enjoying the feel of he cool muscular arms around me. It wasn't long before sleep claimed me.

I woke up to the sound of Nicholas moving next to me and the feel of his arms gently moving themselves from around my waist. I groaned and sat up.

"No fair!" I whined, "I was sleeping!"

I shot a groggy glare in Nicholas' direction but he merely smiled and said, "I love you too sweetie."

I groaned again. "Oh God are you trying to make me throw up!"

He feigned disbelief. "Are you saying my love and adoration for you disgust you?"

I rolled my eyes and walked over to where he was standing, bringing my arms up and crossing them behind his neck. "Of course not. I will never tire of hearing you tell me you love me," I said, smiling sweetly, "however, if you _ever_ call me sweetie again I will hurt you in ways you can't possibly imagine."

He smiled and put his arms around my waist, resting his forehead against mine.

"Fine." He agreed before closing the gap between our lips and pressing his gently onto mine. I deepened the kiss, nipping his lip. He smiled against the kiss, his tongue flicking out and dancing with mine. After a few minutes of bliss we came up for air, but not moving any further away than was necessary, looking into each others eyes. We stayed like this for an immeasurable amount of time, enjoying the others closeness. It wasn't until my phone, which I'd left on the desk started buzzing that we broke apart. I sighed and pulled out of Nicholas' embrace checking the message that appeared on the screen. It was from Solange. Although she was only downstairs from us, she preferred to text me first to make sure she wouldn't walk in on any unwanted PDA.

_"I'm going to have a shower, but after that I'll be on my way up to talk about this strange joint custody of you that me and Nicholas have. So you have until 9.30. Solange x"_

Crap! I forgot about our little meeting. I checked the time. It was nearly 8.30. If we were going to get into town on time we needed to leave now. I'd have to fill Nicholas in and try to persuade him on the way.

I walked over to him, my eyes flicking over the outfit he had changed into, faded black jeans and a red and black T-shirt. The boy did have taste, even if our looks completely clashed. While he went for the rocker grunge look, I went for the hippy gypsy style, with flowey bright patterns and an excess of jewelry and sequins.

I decided to play it cool for now, knowing that if he suspected in any way what I had planned before I had a chance to explain properly Nicholas was never going to agree to help.

"I'm going to the drug store, I need to get some stuff." I said casually, walking towards the desk and picking up the now cold mug of tea. I didn't say anything more, knowing he wouldn't let me go on my own so soon after everything.

He watched me for a long moment, obviously not entirely fooled by my nonchalance. "What do you need to get?" he asked skeptically, moving slowly towards me and holding my gaze.

I wasn't going to let him rattle me, but new that I at least needed to tell him the half truth if this was going to work; he would see right through a full-on lie. Sighing I looked down and said, "I need to talk to away from the house, away from certain vampires with too good hearing." Smiling I looked up and added, "And I really do need to get some more shampoo."

I glanced around apprehensively, as Nicholas kept his gaze on me, his silver eyes probing me, trying to pull whatever was I was keeping from him out of me. He stepped closer towards me, gently lifting my chin, forcing me to meet my gaze. We stayed this way for what seemed like forever, before Nicholas sighed and stepped back. He noticed my worried expression and said, "Lucy, I trust you so you can stop worrying. I just hope you know what you're doing."

I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding in. I closed the gap Nicholas had created between us, wrapping my arms around him and resting my cheek against his chest. Nicholas held me close, stroking my hair.

Reluctantly, I pulled away. "We need to go. I'll explain on the way" I added quickly, after Nicholas gave me a questioning look.

We walked down the two flights of stairs to the ground floor and out the door. My 1967 VW Fastback was parked outside. I threw the keys at Nicholas, knowing that he'd want to drive. We drove out of the farm and down the highway into the small town. We remained in silence for about five minutes; I know Nicholas was waiting for me to start explaining, and I was desperately trying to think of a way of putting it that would work.

Eventually I sighed, knotting my hands on my lap and staring down as I started, "Please just let me talk and finish. I know that if you don't listen the whole way through you won't let me explain enough for you to understand." I looked up, and saw Nicholas nod in agreement, then continued. "You were right, what you said in your note. This time splitting isn't working." I paused, thinking of what to say next. After a few seconds I looked up. "Our of the three of us, who knows both you and Solange the best?" Before he had a chance to answer I continued, "I do. So I know that if another factor wasn't thrown into the mix to be considered it would never work. We would all go round in circles with Solange playing the best friend card and you playing the boyfriend card. And I know you're not going to like the other factor I want to bring in, so you need to think before you speak and consider one very important question before you give your answer. Do you trust me?"

"Of - " Nicholas started.

"Uh-uh, you promised you'd let me finish and you need to hear everything before you answer. I called Kieran, and asked him to meet us at the drug store." Nicholas' grip on the steering wheel tightened, but he stayed silence. This was good. "I know he's a bit of an ass, but he loves Solange and he more than proved himself last week. He hasn't contacted her, but she hasn't contacted him either. They're both scared of being rejected by the other, and to be honest, he has more right than her considering her family resistance." I made a pointed look at him. "And this is why you are coming with me. Your family trusts you, so if we both come back with him then he should be able to let him and Solange talk. If they make up then we may be able to come to an agreement. When she's with him I can be with you. So will you help me?"

I kept my eyes on my hands, which had knotting nervously the whole time I had been talking. Neither of us said anything for the remained of the time. The long silence made me nervous, but I knew Nicholas. If he was going to say no, he would have said as soon as he decided. We arrived in town and parked on the high street down from the drug store. Nicholas turned off the engine and turned to face me. I didn't look up, afraid he was angry with me. Sighing he reached over, gently lifting my chin. He then placed his hands on either side of my face. He held my gaze as he spoke.

"I trust you Lucy. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do anything that you thought was going to hurt Solange." His tone was gentle. "And I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me the truth." He kissed me sweetly on the lips before pulling away and undoing his seatbelt. "Come on." He said, smiling at me. "We'd better hurry if we're going to get back in time."

We walked along the street to the drug store. Standing outside, shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot, was Kieran. I felt Nicholas stiffen slightly, honding my hand a little bit tighter as we approached. Kieran saw us, hesitated, then moved forward to meet us.

"Kieran." Nicholas said politely.

"Nicholas." Kieran replied in a slightly nervous tone. He then turned to me, "I hope you actually have a plan Lucy."

"Of course I do. I wouldn't risk this if I didn't but i need the promise from both of you that you will do _exactly_ what i tell you to do. Promise?" I said, passing a glare between the two boys.

Kieran was the first to reply, seeming to not need to give the idea any thought, "I promise."

I looked up at Nicholas, keeping my expression neutral. He knew perfectly well that he could do as he pleased and I couldn't do a damned thing about it. Before we were going out I had no way of making him do anything; things were different now. If he refused to promise, then he would do what he liked, but I knew that if he promised, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to break that promise to me.

Nicholas turned to face me, putting his hand on either side of my face and holding my gaze, "Your plan is well thought out, right? And I don't mean well thought out in Lucy-world, I mean you've really thought about this, because if this time doesn't work, that's it. Mum and dad will never let Kieran near the house again and we're out of options."

I held his gaze, knowing he would see the truth in my eyes, "Yes I have thought about this properly, and yes in real world terms not in the kick-ass terms of my world. I know this is out only option. But I also know that some of the things I tell you to do you won't like."

He held my gaze for a few seconds longer before nodding, "I promise."

"Good." I said, sighing. "Now, lets head back and I'll fill you in on the way."

Twenty minutes later we were back at the house. We all got out the car, and walked towards the house with me at the front and Nicholas bringing up the rear, keeping Kieran safely in between us. As soon as we walked through the door, Liam and Helena descended on us, defensively blocking the stairs. I stopped and Kieran moved to my right side and Nicholas to his.

"Why is he here?" Liam asked, with both the angry protectiveness of a father as well as his scholarly curiosity.

This was Nicholas' job. After my show a few weeks ago, the Drake parents no longer believed I was a good judge of character. I did point out that they also weren't so great, considering how they let the leader of the group planning on killing Solange stay in the house as a guest (sort of). But as adults, they saw there error as of lesser importance. Whatever.

Nicholas took as step forward, placing himself slightly in front of Kieran and closer to me. I reached out and squeezed his hand quickly, hoping to show my support. He smiled at me briefly in response, before turning back to his parents. "He's come to talk to Solange. No this wasn't my idea it was Lucy's but you know that I am always the first to point out the sometimes glaringly obvious flaws in her "fool-proof" plans. And to be honest, I think we judged Kieran too harshly. Yes his first impression was not the best, but he managed to get passed his prejudices." Nicholas sighed at the look of suspicion on his parents eyes. This was it. If this last line didn't work nothing would. In a softer tone he finished, "Lets face it, if it wasn't for him, Solange wouldn't be alive now."

And that was it. I saw both the parents crack. There was no way they could deny it; if he hadn't given her his blood in the crucial moments during her bloodchange, she wouldn't have pulled through. But they weren't done with the interrogations. Instead they turned to me. It was Liam who did the talking, Helena just stared probingly at me. As if I would be stupid enough to lie to her over something so trivial.

"Its not a particularly challenging plan, which is why - as Nicholas so charmingly put it - it doesn't contain the usual "glaringly obvious flaws". The truth is you can't keep her locked up like the princess in the tower forever. She may be the vamp princess or whatever, but she still a sixteen-year-old girl. She needs to experience that once in a lifetime feeling of first love and the joy and pain that comes with it." By the time I'd finished my voice was about three octaves higher and way too fast. Nicholas stopped me, wrapping his arms around my waist and standing behind me, still keeping Kieran slightly blocked from his parents. I let out a shaky sigh and leaned back, enjoying the feeling of his closeness and appreciating the absolute support they gave. The movement also had an effect on Liam and Helena. Both relaxed slightly, the mistrustful expression fading from their face.

Liam sighed and stepped around Nicholas, extending a hand to Kieran. " With those two its impossible to say that you and Solange couldn't make it work. And I will admit that you went above and beyond what anyone expected to save her." Kieran shook his hand, then Helena's, before all three turned to me and Nicholas. "What next?" Liam asked.

"We get Solange to come down here and they go sit in the garden and talk. In the mean time, we give them some privacy. And I don't just mean out of the way privacy, I mean out of vamp hearing range privacy, got it?"

Helena and Liam nodded, and then called up the stairs. "Solange? There's someone here to see you."

We all watched the stairs, and a couple of seconds later we heard a door slam and saw Solange running down the stair in her clay stained trousers, her damp black hair flying dramatically behind her. She stopped a few steps from the hall, staring at Kieran in shock. Her eyes flashed with the new scent of human blood in the room. It must have been more potent now than before, with two humans in such close proximity and so soon after her change. I started to have some doubts about the sensibility of my plan. At this thought I turned to Nicholas in wonder. He had only been turned a year ago, and yet he seemed entirely comfortable with my having a pulse. Nicholas noticed me staring and raised an questioning eyebrow. "I'll tell you later." I whispered.

"Sol?" I said cautiously. Her confused gaze fell on me and immediately changed to one of suspicion. I sighed in exasperation. "You know your family uses that bloody suspicious look like its going out of fashion. I'm you best friend. Trust me." Her expression softened, Nicholas snorted and Liam and Helena were smiling, so I must have said something right to relieve the tension. Kieran, however was still shuffling on the spot and staring at his feet like they were about to reveal the meaning of life. It was time for pro-active Lucy action. "Right," I said, clapping my hands together. "I need to have a shower, so I'll be upstairs. And I sure Nicholas would love to make me some dinner?" I smiled sweetly at him.

Rolling his eyes he said, "You know you're lucky you're cute." he said before pecking me on the cheek and walking to the kitchen at the back of the house. I watched him leave, smiling to myself before continuing.

"Sol, Kieran? Why don't you go for a walk outside. It's a lovely night." Kieran nodded and headed back out the front door. Sol hesitated, giving me a "if this goes badly I'm gonna hold it against you forever" look before following.

Which left just me and the sort of step-'rents. Before they could say anything I smiled and said, "Right. Shower." and ran upstairs. By the time I had finished and changed into my summer dress style nightie, Nicholas had finished cooking. I was towel drying my hair in my room when he knocked on the door.

"Pizza delivery." He said. I smiled and called him in. He put the oven pizza on the desk in front of me and went to sit on my bed, stretching out and leaning back against the backboard.

"So what was that look earlier?" He asked just as I shoved a massive amount of pizza in my mouth. I chewed and walked over to the bed carrying my pizza. I sat next to him cross-legged and swallowed before answering.

"I was just was just in awe of you amazingness." I said. Nicholas snorted in disbelief and closed his eyes. I continued. "No really. After seeing how Solange struggled with only having two humans in the same room as her, it just made me wonder how you find it so easy to be so close to me. I know you were changed a year ago but still, that's nothing really."

Nicholas sat up, mirroring my position. "It's not that it's easy exactly, it's more that I've learned to ignore it. Like when you get so hungry to the point where you don't feel hungry anymore. I spend so much time around your scent I don't notice it anymore." He reached up, stroking my cheek. "Anyway," he continued, "Solange would kill me if I hurt you." I hit him playfully.

Nicholas suddenly stood up, dragging me with him. "My pizza..." I whined.

"They're back." He said, dragging my out the room and down the stairs. We entered the hall just in time to see Solange giving Kieran a cautious peck goodbye. She then turned, giving me a murderous look. I tried to hide myself behind Nicholas, but he was having none of it.

"Oh no you don't." he said. "This is your problem. I'll be in you room when you're done."

My eyes followed him helplessly as he walked back upstairs. I then reluctantly returned my gaze to Solange. "So it went okay then?" I asked cautiously.

She walked forward, crossing her arms, her face not softening as she replied. "Yes. But what were you thinking? I could have killed him. I've just about gotten used to being okay with having your scent filling the house. Didn't you even think of how hard that was for me?" She asked, her voice getting softer and more fragile as she spoke. I wanted to hug her and comfort her, but knew that wouldn't make her feel any better.

"Oh Sol of course I took that into account. Why do you think Nicholas was with me? I can empathize to an extent sure, but I have no idea what it's like. I got approval from Nicholas first because he would have had no problem shooting down my idea if it would have been too much for you." My voice started to shake as I continued, "I just want you to be happy Sol. And I know you and I know that you're scared of this getting to close to humans, but at the same time scared of losing your humanity. I know that you miss Kieran and that you wanted to see him. And yes it was a partly selfish decision to bring him here, but you know what? I want to spend time with Nicholas without feeling guilty for leaving you, and I want to spend time with you like we used to. I want to talk about boys and clothes and t.v. without you getting all freaked out because I'm going out with your brother. I thought if you had Kieran, you may be able to get used to us a little easier if there wasn't a part of you that didn't want to be around us not because he's your brother but because seeing us reminds you of Kieran." I stopped. My voice was reaching a hysterically high level.

We stood for a moment before Solange closed the gap between us and drew me into a tight hug. "Okay, okay. Its fine. I just wish you would let me in on some of you crazy Lucy-schemes, particularly those that involve me as one of the leads."

We separated and smiled at each other. "Aww, but then how could you guilt trip me like that?" I said jokingly. We stood in silence for a few seconds before I said slightly guiltily, "I promised to go see Nicholas, and you know how he gets when he's left too long. All brooding and moody. But tomorrow you promise we have a full and openly girlie chat about the new and scary boy-shapes in our lives?"

"Sure." Solange agreed. "Its been too long anyway."

And with that, everything fell back into place. Kieran's presence in the house became almost as constant as my own. My parents decided to extend their trip indefinitely. It seems hippie rediscovery of oneself is one lengthy process. After the okay was given by the Drake's I moved in permanently. And for the next two years we lived relatively peacefully. Every few months some radical young vamp would break the treaty, but never pose any threat to the Drake's. But that wasn't it for the drama in our lives. Oh no, two years of peace were just the quiet before the storm. The day of my eighteenth birthday is where our next chapter begins.

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**So there's the Prologue. Hope you enjoyed it and please review! And if you pick up on any grammar or spelling mistakes I've missed please let me know and I'll correct it if I can. **

**The next chapter may take a while. It took me quite some time to write this one what with school work and my job. But keep checking for updates. Thanks.  
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	2. Chapter 1: Surprise

**So here it is, Chapter 1 (well 2 in numbers but 1 in terms of the story) part 1. Be warned there is quite a bit of swearing.**

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**Chapter 1: Surprise**

**Lucy's POV**

I woke up to the sound of the blinds tapping against the windowsill. Groaning, I snuggled further under the duvet, trying to ignore the irritating blind. After ten minutes of trying desperately to pretend to I was asleep, I gave up, throwing the duvet back and shoving on my red fluffy slipper-socks grumpily. I stumbled downstairs to the kitchen, barely aware of what I was doing. Letting my body run on auto-pilot, I grabbed a bowl and spoon from the cupboard and poured myself a bowl of bland tasteless cereal. I used to never eat breakfast; the thought of food in the morning makes me feel sick. Moving to the Drakes had changed that. Even though they didn't eat, they were determined to make sure I ate the correct three meals-a-day, five fruit and veg and all of the recommended food groups. So it was bye bye to my food free mornings and hello to eating as soon as I woke up in an attempt to stop myself from tasting what I was eating.

After practically inhaling the ick in a bowl I shuffled over to the kettle to make my morning cup of tea. Taped onto the kettle was a note and a red and yellow lily. Nicholas. If he'd been here I would have mocked him for being cheesy, but secretly I loved it. I gently ripped the note off, and read.

_"I know I know, cheesy. Just enjoy it, it's your birthday.  
_

_Sorry I can't be with you the whole day, but lucky for me you weren't technically you don't turn 18 until 9 o'clock tonight. So enjoy your day of chilling and I'll see you tonight for your birthnight party._

_Love you, Lucky._

_Nicky x._

Smiling to myself, I finished my tea and spent the day just as Nicholas suggested, relaxing.

Six episodes into a Buffy marathon I heard I light knock on the door. "Come in." I said through a mouthful of popcorn. The door opened and Nicholas walked in with a pile of multi-coloured presents. Putting the popcorn onto my bedside table, I bounded across the room to meet him. He put the presents on the bed and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close.

"Happy birthday." he whispered in a sultry voice, before giving me a long, languid kiss.

Smiling I pulled back wrapping my arms behind his neck. "Why thank you. Although as you pointed out in your note, _technically_ I'm not 18 yet. Oh and about that-" Nicholas rolled his eyes, obviously expecting one of my patented sarcastic replies. "Oi you!" I said, slapping the back of his head lightly, "All I was going to say was that it was very sweet... if cheesy."

He kissed me lightly. "You're welcome. And may I say your maturing, that was almost all nice." He replied, smiling.

My heart gave a little flutter in response to that smile. It was one that he only used with me, knowing the effect it had on me. Trying to cover up I pulled out of the embrace and sat cross-legged on the bed next to my presents. "Excuse me but it's my birthday, meaning you have to be nice to _me, _not the other way round." Nicholas sat next to me. "Can I open them yet?" I asked, fidgeting giddily on the bed.

"Sure." He said, smiling. He kissed my hair tenderly before pushing them towards me. I tore of the paper, revealing the book I'd been trying to buy for ages.

I turned towards him. "Where did you get this? I've been trying forever to find this." He just gave me a look and pushed the next one towards me. Putting the book down I ripped through the paper, revealing a green jewelery box with a Celtic cross engraved on the top. I opened it gently and pulled out a inticate gold chain with a fob watch. The case had a complicated Celtic design on it. I clicked open the watch, revealing the face, which was see-through showing the cogs underneath. For a few minutes I stared at the stunning watch. Next to me Nicholas began to fidget.

"Do you like it?" He asked nervously.

I turned to him, letting him see the stunned look on my face. "Its incredible. I don't... even know..." I trailed off, unable to find the words. Hugging him I whispered, "Thank you."

Nicholas hugged me back, stroking my hair gently. I pulled away and opened the final present. It was a picture frame with ribbons entwined through the metal framework. The picture inside it matched the one in Nicholas' room of the two of us from my fifteenth birthday. Placing it on the bedside table, along with the book and jewelery case, I turned to Nicholas. "It's official. You are the best boyfriend ever." I said, grinning.

Nicholas smiled in response. "You don't know how relieved I am to hear that. Trying to think of what to get you was one of the most stressful things I've ever had to do." He then grabbed my hand, dragging me across the bed and towards the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Downstairs," he answered. "everyone's waiting."

"One second." I said, pulling my had away and running back to the bed. I picked up the necklace and clasped it around my neck. I skipped back to Nicholas, who was waiting at the stairs. He smiled at the sight of the necklace and held out his hand. I intertwined my fingers in his and we walked downstairs to the living room.

As soon as we entered the room I was engulfed in a mass hug from Solange and all her brothers. Nicholas had snuck off before the onslaught and went to sit on the two-seater sofa on the other side of the room, with a smug look on his face. I glared as best I could but this seemed to only further amuse the git. After a minute I decided to be pro-active about the growing feeling of claustrophobia I was getting from the group hug.

"Okay guys, as much as I love you all, if you don't back off and give me some space I will be forced to kick you." Knowing my threats were never idol, the all took a quick step back.

"Sorry, Luce." Logan said, winking. "But if you weren't so darn cute we wouldn't be in this situation. I rolled my eyes.

Of all the brothers, Logan was my favorite (apart from Nicholas of course). They were all lovely but I felt completely at ease with Logan. Only being two years older than me and Solange, and just as immature, I felt no pressure to be serious of stoic. And with his flirty attitude and happy eyes, it was impossible not to like him

"So where are the presents?" I asked, looking from face to face.

"Not yet. We're waiting on your parents. Mum and dad are just finding out where they are now." Solange answered. Kieran had moved to her side as soon as the hugging was done. He'd become an almost permanent guest at the farm since we'd sorted (well I'd sorted) things out two years back. I saw him as a brother, and we had bonded over our both having partners without a pulse.

He stepped forwards and gave me a quick hug. "Happy birthday Lucy." I smiled in response, then went to join Nicholas.

We sat chatting for about ten minutes when Liam popped his head round the door. He looked slightly guilty. Strange. "Lucy," he said quietly. "Your parents are on the phone and want to talk to you."

Confused I followed him out the room into the study. Helena handed me the receiver and then they both left the room without another word. "Hello?" I said.

"Hey Lucky, Happy Birthday." My mum said. She sounded nervous.

"Thanks." I replied cautiously. "So are you guys at the airport or something? Do you need us to pick you up? Its just the presents are waiting." I said jokingly, but I couldn't quite keep the confusion out of my voice. It was nearly 9 o'clock and their flight was meant to have landed over an hour ago.

"Sort of. The thing is sweetie, we're still in Nepal. There have been some crazy storms over here and our flight was cancelled. We tried to get onto another one but all the flights have been grounded. I'm so sorry we can't be there, but we'll be on the first flight to the States that becomes available, I promise." I didn't reply I just stared. After a couple of minutes my mum asked anxiously. "Lucy, sweet, are you still there?"

"Mm." I replied shortly, trying not to get angry or cry - or both. I knew it wasn't their fault, but part of me could help but blame them.

"Oh, honey I know you're upset, but please don't be angry. We've tried everything we could." She seemed almost exasperated by my reaction. I could almost hear her counting to ten in her head and trying not to sound too patronizing. That's what did it. I snapped.

"Don't you dare use that tone with me." I snarled. As I spoke the room began to shake. "Don't you dare try to make me out as the guilty party here. _You _are my parents. You _knew_ it was my birthday, and that I haven't seen you in over a _year._ But you left the flight right until the last minute, because you're stupid karmic pilgrimage was more important that your _OWN DAUGHTER!_" I practically screamed the last part. Around me the room was in chaos. The floor shook violently causing the pictures on the wall to come crashing to the floor along with everything else on the shelves and desk. But I didn't notice. I was beyond noticing. It was as if I was in my own angry bubble that was getting more and more energized as our 'conversation' continued.

"Lucky Hamilton, I am your mother and you will show respect." Now she was angry. Normally she was all, "We treat you equally" and "We want you to always be honest with us, not matter how hurt you may think we'll be". It was only when she was _really_ angry that those concepts of love and equality were taken out of the mix. It was such a rare thing. The last time I'd heard it was when I broke Nicholas' nose when we were little, and even then she had never played the "I am your mother" card. But it didn't scare me like it did that time. Instead it made me even more livid.

"Respect?" I spat. "You want me to respect the women who practically abandoned me so she could go on some jolly around the world. Fucking great parenting there mum. God I only hope I can grow up to be as good as you."

At this point I could here Nicholas calling me and for the first time I wanted him to stay away. I didn't need his logical detached attitude now. Just as he was about to walk through the door, it slammed shut and locked.

"You know what?" I said down the receiver, putting all my anger into the words. "Just fucking stay there. Stop with the bullshit act of actually caring about me."

"Lucy-" But I didn't want to hear it.

"JUST STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY LIFE!" I screamed and threw the receiver at the wall, and that was it. All the energy in the room combined with my anger; all the mirrors, light bulbs and windows exploded, sending shards flying across the room. I blacked out.

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**So, interesting stuff (I hope). Again please review and thanks to all of you who wrote the positive stuff for the first chapter and favorited it. Hope Chapter 2 (sort of) lived up to your expectations. Next up, Nicholas' POV. :)**


	3. Chapter 2: Surprise

**Sorry it's taken so long. It's been a pretty strange few months. From now on this story is dedicated to one of my best friends who was always encouraging me to try new things and believe in my abilities. RIP Joel x**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 2 - Surprise

Nicholas' POV

Lucy left the room with a confused look on her face. This wasn't good. Something had obviously gone wrong, there was no other reason for my parents wanting Lucy to talk to her mum and dad in private. Everyone around me continued their conversation as normal; I wasn't listening. I was staring at the door, waiting for Lucy to return.

Suddenly, Lucy raised voice entered the room, full of anger and tears. I knew Lucy had a short temper, so the yelling wasn't a massive surprise to us, but there was something about her tone that worried me. There was silence from the other room again, and I had just begun to relax when her voice hurtled back into the room, so loud that every word was perfectly clear even without vampire super-hearing.

"Respect?" She screamed. "You want me to respect the women who practically abandoned me so she could go on some jolly around the world. Fucking great parenting there mum. God I only hope I can grow up to be as good as you." Everyone went silent.

That was it. I stood and walked out the room into the corridor. The door of the study was open and I could see Lucy standing by the desk, the receiver in her hand, her knuckles white, her whole body visibly shaking. "Lucy?" I called cautiously. She didn't seem to hear. I had almost reached the door when it slammed shut and I heard the bolt lock. I grabbed the handle and tried to open the door. Panic shot through me.

"Mum, Dad!" I called, still trying desperately to open the door. I could hear things smashing and breaking from inside the door, and Lucy's pained voice. My parents came out from the kitchen and walked towards me, confused. As they approached I saw their expression change from confusion to worry as their sensitive ears heard the commotion coming from inside the study. I looked at them helplessly.

Mum opened her mouth, but before anything could come out we heard an all mighty smash, and the door swung open.

The room was in chaos, with almost all the items on the surrounding shelves and desks strewn across the floor. Pictures that had been hanging on the walls were now lying on the floor, glass broken. In fact, every glass object in that room had been smashed and scattered - the windows, light bulbs, mirrors. The floor and every open surface was coated in a fine layer of glass shards. And in the middle of all this, crumpled in a small ball on the floor was Lucy.

I ran over to her. Crouched down, I gently brushed the glass from her hair.

"Lucy?" I said quietly, assessing the damage. No serious injuries, just a series of small cuts where the glass shards had grazed her skin. She didn't respond.

I carefully picked her up, cradling her close to me as carried her out the room and up the stairs. Mum and Dad shadowed me. Once inside her room I gently laid her down on the bed and pulled the duvet over her. My parents gestured for me to follow them out the room, but I shook my head.

"I don't want to leave her." I said quietly. "We can talk in here; I doubt it'll wake her up." Gently my parents closed the door. I grabbed the chair from the desk and sat myself beside Lucy, stroking her hair. She looked so fragile, her cheeks covered in scrapes. Not looking away from her, I asked. "What happened?"

There was a silence, which Mum broke, answering "Her parents aren't coming back." But she knew that wasn't what I meant. I waited, knowing that eventually they would answer my question properly.

It was Dad who spoke up this time. "I don't understand it either. There was no way anyone, vampire or other, could cause that level of damage in so little time. I'll try and do some research, but until Lucy wakes up and tells us her account there isn't much of a base for me to start." I nodded my head silently. Even in the world I had grown up in, this was definitely unusual. It wasn't surprising that I'd never heard of anything similar, but if my Dad, who's knowledge was exponentially more rich than my own, had never seen or heard of an event such as this it was rare indeed.

There was a silence as the three of us sat, watching Lucy, all attempting to understand the impossible scene we'd just witnessed. Eventually, Mum sighed and moved towards Lucy and examining the cuts on her face and arms. There were a few lines of dried up blood from some, but most were merely scratches. "I'll go get something to clean those with." Mum said. I nodded, still not taking my eyes from Lucy. Mum gently moved my head so that my gaze was meeting hers. She didn't say anything, just searched my eyes.

Knowing what she was looking for, I answered in a soft, tired voice, "I'm not tempted Mum. It's been years since the smell of her blood has even registered with me." At my statement, some of the tension left both of my parents, and the quietly exited. I turned back to Lucy and waited for her to wake.

An hour or so later, as I was researching online (with little success), I heard a moan from the bed. In a flash I was next to the bed as Lucy turned her head to face me, wincing as the cuts grazed against the pillow.

"What happened?" She said groggily, her eyes taking in her surroundings with confusion, bring herself up to sit.

Taking her hand gently, minding the cuts on the back of it. "I was kind of hoping you could tell us that."

Her eyebrows scrunched together in thought. Eventually she sighed, squeezing my hand and moving out of the bed. "I think that may be something I need to explain to everyone about, as best I can anyway." She let me lead her out the room and downstairs to the front room, where everyone was sitting anxiously. They all turned as we entered. I sat on the lone chair in the corner, pulling Lucy onto my lap and wrapping my arms protectively around her waist. She placed her arms lightly over mine and leaned back.

"Sorry guys." She whispered slowly. I gave her a little squeeze. At this everyone spoke at once, all with abject rejection of Lucy's attempt at apologising. Eventually everyone quieted down and Logan spoke.

"Don't be stupid, Lucy, it doesn't suit you. None of this is your fault. Your parents were being arses and that's that. We don't want you to apologise, we just want to know what happened." Lucy looked up and I smiled at Logan. Out of all of my siblings, apart from maybe Solange, Logan had truly accepted Lucy as his little sister.

"Umm, well the thing is, I actually have no idea what happened. I was… talking to my parents and then everything was breaking and I blacked out. And that's about the it." She shifted nervously, and as the silence stretched out I could feel her getting increasingly nervous. Solange also seemed to pick up on Lucy's discomfort.

"So no one was there that you could see?" She asked.

"No, it was just me. But there was this weird… energy in the room." She paused for a second and her shifting stopped. Her voice was barely a whisper, but we all heard. "I think - " she swallowed and then turned to look at me, "I think it was me."

"That's absurd -" Mum started, but I held up my hand, and she stopped.

Keeping my eyes on Lucy's, trying to show that I believed her I asked, "Dad, is that possible?"

He pondered for a second, considering, then answered, "It could be. We were all looking for an outside source for the cause, so we weren't looking for possibilities where it could have been Lucy. So now, we start again, and Lucy you," he walked over to us and placed a fatherly kiss on her head, "are going to enjoy what is left of your birthday." Him and Mum then left the room, heading, I assumed, to Library to research. Conner also left, giving Lucy's hand a small squeeze as he passed. As the computer genius of the family, he was the one who would find the best results online. Duncan, Marcus and Sebastian had also slipped out the room, probably following Mum and Dad to the library. Those of us who remained sat in silence, not sure what to say. It was Kieran who eventually broke the awkward atmosphere that had fallen over the room.

"So do you still want your presents Luce?" He asked, smiling.

I could hear the smile in Lucy's voice when she answered, "Well, I'll never say no to presents…"

"I didn't think you would." Kieran said, laughing. "Sol, Logan, Quinn? Bit of help." And with that the four of them exited to the kitchen, subtly giving us a bit of privacy.

I picked Lucy up and gently sat her in the chair. Kneeling down in front of her, I took her hands and held her gaze. "Lucy, none of us are mad at you. We're worried, because something happened to someone we love and we don't know why. Don't you dare start blaming yourself for any of this." She opened her mouth but I didn't let her interrupt. "Even if it was you, you have no idea how you did this, so this is Not. Your. Fault." As I spoke I saw some of the guilt leave her eyes, and a small smile creep onto her lips. I smiled in response and leaned in, gently pressing my lips against hers. She returned the kiss, then pulled back.

Her eyes held mine, full of love, the guilt now completely gone from her eyes. Still smiling, I leaned in, my eyes holding hers, to rest my forehead against hers running my fingers through her hair. "You are the most important thing in my life." I said, my voice soft and low, "I've never cared for anyone more, and I will be here to help you, to find out what's happening and to give you strength."

She smiled, her eyes glistening as she spoke. "I love you, always have, always will." and then closed the small distance between our lips. Just as she did, the others returned. I heard it perfectly; however Lucy's less sensitive ears missed the sound of movement from the door, and jumped when Kieran cleared his throat. A vase in the corner of the room exploded, everyone else turned towards the noise and commotion of the glass shattering, but I kept my eyes on Lucy. At the same time as the glass smashed her vivid green eyes turned black. She obviously did not notice the change in herself however, and was too busy apologising to notice the shock in my face as I tried to understand what had happened. I had never heard of a creature whose eyes changed as hers had. Vampires' eyes glowed red when the bloodlust became too strong, but that was a slow progression. There was no creature I had met whose eyes could change so quickly, and without some way of their owners knowing.

The evening continued with a tense and awkward attempt at maintaining normality, but none of us were really fooled. After Lucy had finished opening her presents (an ornate diary from Kieran, a charm bracelet from my parents with the family seal on it and a charm from each of my brothers and a dress from Solange), we sat talking about anything and everything that did not implicate the events of the evening. However, I knew the strain of maintaining her usual feisty, perky disposition was becoming too much, and she became increasingly withdrawn from the conversations. By about 11 o'clock, her contributions had decreased to non-committal grunts and a forced smile. At this point I decided to relieve her, acting up the role of over-protective boyfriend and claiming she needed to rest. Throwing me a weary but grateful smile, she thanked everyone for their gifts and apologised for ruining their evening - to which they all quickly assured her she had done no such thing. We then left the room and made our way up to the first flaw to her room.

Entering her room, she changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed. I did the same, grabbing the spare sweats that I left in her room for occasions such as these. She snuggled up to me, resting her head on my shoulder and aimlessly drawing patterns on my bare chest. Not looking away from her hand she said, "What if there's something wrong with me? What if-" Before she could finish I cut her off.

"There is nothing wrong with you. Something is changing, yes, but it isn't wrong just different. And you're not alone; me and my family will always be here for you." I promised.

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**Again, sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoyed this. Thanks for all the positive reviews I've received :-). The next chapter shouldn't take as long to write, but I can't be sure, plus uploading has become somewhat more awkward with my current lack of internet at home.**


	4. Chapter 3: Something New

**Here we go, Chapter 3 :-). Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3 - Something New

Lucy's POV

I woke the next day to the feeling of someone moving in the bed next to me. Opening my eyes I saw Nicholas getting up, trying not to wake me. Smiling, I reached over and brushed my hand down his spine, my smile increasing as he shivered at my touch and turned around, his tussled hair falling in front of his eyes. I sat up, stretching and grabbing my glasses from the counter next to me, focussing the world around me. My small pile of presents was sitting on my desk; all but the photo of Nicholas and me, which was on my bedside table. Their presence brought back memories of the night before. A mixture of guilt, fear and confusion came over me as I replayed the chaos of the previous evening. I didn't want it to be me who caused it all. I was the only normal thing in the small paranormal sphere I lived in. Although I never normally thought about the Drakes being Vampires, I still took comfort in my not having to suffer the confusion of being something so entirely different to the rest of the world, something that I had to hide. But now… this was something entirely unheard of, and that was worse. The vampire community was such that the Drakes could feel truly a part of a species, even if they didn't associate with it, but it was just me; that terrified me.

Nicholas brought me out of my spiralling thoughts, gently resting a hand on my cheek. My eyes focused on his face, which was full of concern. Obviously my face had reflected my dark thoughts. Smiling I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand, taking comfort in his touch.

"We're going to figure this out, you know." he said, his voice soft and tender, "The world is full of things that are hidden from others. Just look at us, an entire species completely under the radar of humans. "

I opened my eyes and sat up, crossing my legs and staring blankly at the wall, my mind elsewhere. "But what if it's just me? I don't even know what happened, and I don't know if this is the full extent of my… powers or if it's just the tip of the iceberg. What if…" my voice was barely a whisper, "what if I can never control it. What if this… this _thing_ that's wrong with me never goes away."

I felt the bed shift as Nicholas sat in my eye-line, his position mirroring my own, his eyes entirely serious. "We're going to figure this out." He repeated, "We are your family and we won't leave you alone with this, no matter what."

His eyes held mine for several seconds making sure I understood, communicating the absolute truth and conviction behind his words. Smiling I stroked his cheek. "I love you." I said.

He kissed me lightly on the lips, "And I love you. Always."

I smiled again, then got up and headed towards the bathroom, grabbing a change of clothes - including the red 1950's floral dress from Solange. After a quick shower, I returned to find my room empty. Assuming Nicholas had gone to change and whatnot I grabbed my new necklace and bracelet and meandered downstairs for some breakfast. As I approached the kitchen I heard Liam's voice, soft but serious, from inside the room. I slowed my pace, not wanting to interrupt.

"There's no other explanation that makes sense," he was saying, "not when we take into account the timing and damage."

"But here parent's _aren't_." Helena's cool voice countered, "and that's the only way their powers are passed though the generations. There are no accounts of power's awakening without the genetic lineage."

"That we know of." Liam argued, "The wiccan community has always been secretive, perhaps they only let us know certain parts, but not all. We have to at least try. If we're right about this one, then we have no idea of the extent of Lucy's powers."

Not wanting to hear any more, I decided this would be a good time to make my grand entrance. Pushing though the door, Liam and Helena's conversation came to an abrupt halt. They both smiled at me before leaving the way I had come. Trying to forget their conversation, I poured myself some cereal. As I did, I noticed the time on the cooker's clock. 21.00. Apparently my activities the night before had put me on a nocturnal schedule with the rest of the family. Seeing the time also reminded me of something Liam had said, "the timing" he had said. The phone call with my parents had been at 9 o'clock. The exact time when I turned 18. Pondering, I moved to the kitchen table, eating but not tasting as my mind tried to make sense of the half conversation I have overheard. Obviously the lead Liam had found involved something linking my age and my 'powers', and they mentioned wiccan. I had always assumed wiccan was just a group of weirdoes who considered themselves to have 'powers' be it good or evil. But their existence may be just as real as vampires. The idea was not as ridiculous as it seemed to me; if there were vampires, then why not witches? But something about my being related to them unnerved me. Years of bad TV and movies had left me with the impression that witches were evil, ugly hags, who did the devil's bidding. Or - in the case of Buffy - they trained and learned magic. It wasn't genetic, it was a skill, a choice. Not some strange part of their DNA that laid dormant until they came of age. But what did I know? And if Liam and Helena didn't want me to know about this yet, they had reason to. Unlike most parents, they didn't hide things from their kids to protect them, they only did it when they felt they didn't know enough about or have the right to pass the information on. For now at least, I had to just wait. When they were sure enough that their theory held enough credibility, they would tell me.

Someone gently stroking their fingers through my hair brought be out of my reverie. Looking up, I saw Solange taking the seat next to me, her eyes full of concern.

"I haven't seen you that deep in thought for a long time." She said.

"I haven't had much to think deeply about." I smiled weakly. I never liked upsetting Solange. She was my best friend, but I always felt I needed to be the one to keep her happy. Her world was so full of chaos, at least with me I wanted her to be the teenager she was. Everyone expected so much of her, but they seemed to forget she was only 18.

Unfortunately I couldn't always be the responsible one. Reading me as easily as I read her, she said, "You have to stop doing that, you know. I know you're trying to protect me, but it's not me this time that needs protecting."

"I'm just so… so confused!" I exclaimed, letting all my worries pour out of me. "And scared. This is just weird, and terrifying. Liam is the most clever person I know, and he always seems to have answers when it comes to the supernatural, but with me, nothing. No answers, no comforting words." I hastily wiped away the tears that had begun to cloud my vision; there was no way in hell I was going to cry. I heard Solange's chair scrape on the floor. Moving behind me she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and rested chin on me head.

"Oh sweetie, there's nothing wrong with being scared." I snorted at here words. "No there's not, and if this was happening to me you'd say the same thing, and you'd be pissed as hell if I kept all this from you." Moving around she crouched by my chair and took my hands. "You are not allowed to keep all this worry and fear to yourself. You have a whole family hear who is feeling exactly as you are, if to a lesser extent. We wouldn't be working our arses off trying to find an answer if we didn't. We love you. And even if you want to put on the brave face for everyone else you have me, and you have Nicky."

I smiled and turned so I was facing her, giving her hands a squeeze. "You are the _best _best friend in the world, you know." She smiled back, then in true Lucy fashion, I changed the subject. "Soo…. You fancy some online shopping?"

Laughing, she stood and pulled me up with her. "I think that's a brilliant idea."

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**I know this isn't a particularly exciting chapter, but bare with me, all will become clear soon :)**

**So please review, and I'll do Chapter 4 asap  
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	5. Chapter 4 Presents

**So, asap turned out to be 5 months :S Really sorry about that guys, but passing exams to get into uni is a time consuming process :P. But now the summer is here, and I have more free time than stuff to do, so should be able to spend more of my time relaxing and writing :). **

**And now on with the story!**

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Chapter 4 - Presents

Lucy's POV

It had been nearly a week since my birthday, and I still knew nothing more about whatever I was beyond the snippets of conversation I overheard between Liam, Helena and occasionally Sebastian. They still couldn't find a way to contact any Wicca, and they didn't want to tell me anything until they had. As much as it annoyed me to be out of the loop, I knew their reasoning made sense; there was no point in me trying to get used to being one thing, if it turned out that lead was wrong and I was in fact something else entirely. However, my frustration at being inactive was starting to show. My new found powers seemed to be triggered by strong emotions, and whenever I thought about it too much, they would rear there ugly heads. So far, I had broken almost every bit of glass in the house, simply by snapping at a silly comment made by one of the boys, or even just by getting angry at my general uselessness.

And it wasn't just anger that caused problems: when I felt guilty or sad for all the problems I was causing, the weather would become stormy and cold; when I was happy or in a silly mood the electricity would play up. The most embarrassing of these little emotional outbursts was three days after my birthday. Me and Nicholas had been having a pretty heated make-out session and as a consequence I blew all the fuses in the house, and to make things worse, when I apologised and everyone was quick to reassure me it wasn't my fault, the entire house got so cold, all the pipes froze over. My overall mood had in fact generally given the house a mini-climate well below the normal 21°C.

I woke that morning (well evening, but morning for my newly nocturnal body clock) to find the bed empty and the house quiet. Confused by the uncharacteristic silence, I pulled on a dressing gown and fluffy slippers and padded downstairs. My inspection of the house en-route from my bedroom to the kitchen did little to ease my apprehension. Since the whole mess had started, I hadn't had a been out of the presence of at least one Drake or Kieran. But as I wondered through the silent halls and into the empty kitchen I realised for the first time that I was completely alone, and surprisingly, I felt sad to be so. Although their constant company had sometimes been annoying, it had kept my thoughts from drifting too far down a dark path. But now, all alone, my thoughts had already begun to drift, and with it, the temperature of the room plummeted. I could see my breath in front of me, a cloud floating across my field of vision. Usually, when this happened, I was able to snap out of it - or rather someone brought me back - but all alone, I felt painfully guilty, scared and alone. More alone than I had ever felt in my life, like there was a barrier between me and everything I had once known. And even worse than that, I felt tired and weak. My legs gave way and I fell to the cold marble floor. My breathing became laboured, and my vision blurred, and then black.

Nicholas' POV

I hated being out of the house, away from Lucy. My father had insisted that we all go and meet with the Court to request a message be sent on our behalf to the Wiccan, but I felt wrong leaving Lucy alone and out of the loop with something so entirely concerning her. She wasn't as delicate and naïve as my family seemed to think, but only Solange and me had been the voices to stand in her defence, and as the youngest two in the family, they were quickly silenced. We had only been gone a few hours, and had left while Lucy was still sleeping, but my guilt for literally and metaphorically leaving her behind had been eating away at me for the entire 45 minute drive home, and from the dark look on Solange's face, she felt the same. As soon as we pulled up in front of the house, I ran up the steps and into the house. As soon as I stepped inside , a wall of cold hit me. I had gotten used to the place being generally cold over the last week, and as a vampire it had never really been a problem, but this was different. It must have been well below freezing, and judging by the frozen water in the flower vase in the hall, it had been for a while. Panicked I listened out for Lucy's heartbeat, but the sound that reached me was not the usual strong, steady pulse of my perfectly healthy girlfriend, but a weak, too fast hum coming from the kitchen. I ran through, my heart dropping at the sight of Lucy on lying on the ice-covered marble of the kitchen floor, her shallow breaths creating only small puffs in front of her face. Guilt flooded through me as I carefully picked her up and brought her to the front room. Laying her gently on the sofa and wrapping her in a thick blanket, I tried to gage her temperature. Despite the cold in the house, her skin felt flushed and feverish. A noise in the hall alerted me to the families entrance, followed by a sudden quiet as they noticed the cold. Not a second later, they were in the room with me, masks of shock and guilt falling across each face as they took in Lucy's fragile image. Slowly I turned back to her, placing a hand on her cheek and gently stoking it with my thumb. I leaned in from where I knelt and whispered softly in her ear, too low for everyone else to hear.

"I am so sorry Luce, I will _never_ leave you again. I love you."

As I spoke I felt her shift and move closer into my touch. Moving back slightly, I saw her eyes open and venerable with fear. "I'm so scared" she whispered, her voice breaking as she said it. I leaned forward and kissed her gently. "I know, love, I am too." I said against her lips, before kissing her again, trying to soften her fears slightly with my touch.

During our exchange, the temperature had started to increase, and had now settled at a comfortable warmth.

Slowly, she sat up, making room for me next to her, and resting her head on my shoulder and curling her body around mine. I placed a protective arm around her.

As we had spoken, the rest of the family had seated themselves in various seats around the room. Once we had both settled, Dad leaned forwards, resting his arms on his knees and looking at Lucy and me.

"We went to the Court." he said, anticipating Lucy's line of questioning. "We have a theory on what you are, but it's not based on much and there are some major holes in our knowledge of this particular group and your experience." He looked at Mum as he said the last part.

"That neither of my parents are witches?" Lucy asked nonchalantly. Everyone but me seemed shocked by her knowledge, but I know her too well to be shocked by her apparent sneakiness. "I overheard you taking about it the day after my birthday. Don't worry," she quickly added, in response to the guilty looks on all of our faces. "I know you only didn't tell me because you don't know enough. Really, it's okay. I mean considering how much crap I've broken being out of the know, I wouldn't expect you to tell me any strong emotion eliciting news unless you were certain. So why did you need to go to Court, then?"

I answered this time. "Even though we separate ourselves form them, we still have to follow their rules. When one group of supernaturals wants to contact another, we have to go through very official, very complicated paths. We need to contact the Wiccan, but to do so we have to go through the Court." I felt her tense next to me. "Don't worry, they don't know the specifics, just that we need some information to do with the Wiccan. Of course, we have to report back to them everything we find out, in case we're trying to perform a coup, but we can easily avoid telling them anything about you specifically." She eased a little, and I rubbed her arm reassuringly. We sat in silence for a while. Lucy drifted into a light sleep, her breathing slowing and the tension in her body lessening. However, when the front door opened, slamming into the wall, she woke with a start and the bulb in the lamb next to us exploded. Mum jumped up and grabbed one of the many dustpan, brushes and bin bags which were now stationed in the corner of every room in the house, and gave Lucy a stern look, warning her not to apologise. However, she still twisted and whispered an apology in my ear. As much as my family hated it, I knew Lucy needed to apologise. I gave her a squeeze, acknowledging her words, and turned to look towards the door, where Kieran was walking in, carrying a large box.

"Sorry Luce," he said, walking our way. "This was on the doorstep for you." He put the box on the floor in front of us, then turned to go sit with Solange. Confused, Lucy and I slid off the sofa next to the box. Carefully, she opened the lid and looked inside. The box was full of cloth which had been hacked to pieces. Lucy reached a trembling hand towards the box, grabbing a handful of the confetti of material and examining it. As she did, the lights began to flicker.

"Lucy?" I asked, confused, but she wasn't listening. Instead she began frantically throwing the fabric out of the box. Right at the bottom was envelope with Lucy's name written in ornate calligraphy. She tore it open and pulled out 2 sheets of paper. Her eyes darted across the first, reading its contents, then moved to the second. She stared with a look of absolute horror, and the room began to shake violently. Everyone else made there way outside as the tremors increased, but I stayed, pulling the paper out of her hands to look at it. It was a photo, of her parents. They were torn in two. Written over the image were the words "Happy 18th Birthday".

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**And the plot thickens :P. Thanks for reading, and please review. I'll update soon, hopefully.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Aftermath

**Sorry this has taken a while. Hope it was worth the wait. Please review :)**

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Chapter 5 – The Aftermath

Nicholas' POV

It was hours before Lucy finally fell into an exhausted sleep, having cried the whole time since receiving that _"present"_. I'd never felt more helpless or angry in my life. I looked down at Lucy, who was curled up next to me on the sofa, her head in my lap, I felt a serge of fury, more so than I'd felt before; more than with the mess with Solange. With Solange it had sucked, but it was expected, all part and package of being the only born-female vamp in generations. But Lucy? She was the one but of normal in my otherwise entirely abnormal life. She kept me sane, brought me out of my often too serious thoughts with her bright smile and fiery personality, and those green eyes always holding a hint of mischief no matter the situation. But today it had been gone. Today, all those emerald eyes held was sorrow, which had seeped into the house, making it dangerously cold. In an attempt to counteract the side effects of Lucy's emotions, Kieran had been called and tasked with buying as many convection heaters as he could, which had been set up in the kitchen and the living room, which were the only zones in the house where the two human could spend any large amounts of time in.

Not that Lucy had moved. She had sunk into the sofa in shock, but as the reality of the situation set in, she began to cry. And all I could do was act as a human sized tissue for her to cry into.

Mum and Dad came in soon after Lucy had nodded off, one of their periodic checks on us. "How is she?" Mum asked, concern dancing in her pale eyes. And something else too… guilt. Mum had always prided herself in being able to keep Lucy's life normal - well as normal as it could be living in a house full of vampires. She'd made it her personal mission to keep Lucy's world as much the same as it had been before her permanent move to the drake house. Up until now, she had succeeded. But the sudden collapse of Lucy's human world had hit her hard, even if it was entirely out of her control.

"Not great, but she's tough. She just needs to come to terms with all this. You know, seven stages of grief and all that. Sleep should help, hopefully." I looked down, stroking her hair gently. The action caused her lean into the touch, a small sigh escaping her lips. It was a relief to see her this peaceful, even though I knew it wouldn't last.

"So what are your thoughts on who sent it?" I asked, my eyes not leaving Lucy. I heard Mum sink into the sofa opposite, but it was Dad who spoke.

"In our world, it could have been any number of things, let alone who specifically. Clearly, someone knows about what Lucy is, what she can do, and is trying to get to her. For what purpose, I don't know. But I do know that we no longer have the luxury of time. Whoever this was, they've known about Lucy for a long time to know where she lives, where her parents are. Were." he corrected, his voice pained as he said it. I'd forgotten how close my parents were to the Hamilton's, but the fresh pain in Dad's voice made it clear that the loss was hard for him to take, even with centuries of experiencing loss.

I looked up, determined. "So what do we do?" I asked, ready to be able to do something, _anything_, that might help Lucy, that could bring some order into her now chaotic life.

"We pack." Mum said, standing. My confusion must have been plain on my face, because she quickly elaborated. "The Wiccan have replied and granted us an audience, as long as we keep the royal court out of it. But they're not exactly local."

"Where?" I asked, not bothered by the idea of leaving this house. I had become almost claustrophobic.

"Surrey, England." She said. Wow, okay a little further than I'd expected.

"Why so far?" I asked, baffled. Every supernatural group had at least a small number of their people based in every country in the world. I'd expected having to travel within the US to find their base her, but England?

"Because this matter is apparently important enough to catch the eye of their leader. She's asked for us to see her and talk to her directly. And she wants the whole family, including Kieran." She sighed, massaging her eyes with the thumb and index finger of her right hand. It was late… or early, and the daylight exhaustion was setting in. "For them to go to these lengths, it must be important, and quite frankly us being out of the know leaves us blind against someone who clearly isn't messing around. I nodded.

"Can you get Sol for me, please?" I asked. Mum nodded, stoking my hair once as she walked out towards the kitchen. Dad, however, didn't follow.

He was standing by the drawn curtains at the window, watching me with sad, knowing eyes. "How are you?" he asked, holding my gaze. I closed my eyes and leaned back.

"Tired." I said. "Confused, angry." I open my eyes and looked across the room at my never aging father. "I don't know what I can do to help her." I said softly, my voice breaking slightly. Dad's eyes filled with sympathy, as he crouched down in front of me.

Looking in my eyes, he said, "None of us do. But you can offer her something none of us can. You and Lucy are stronger than anyone else I have ever known, and that includes your mother." His eyes twinkled slightly and his soft expression full of love and concern. "I know that if the roles were reversed, all you would need from her would be her support, to know that she was there for you in a way no one else is. And that's all you can do. Be there for her, support her and keep that spark in her that makes Lucy Lucy." As he spoke the last part, her looked down at Lucy's peaceful, slumbering face, and stroked her cheek. He then stood and smiled sadly, "This is going to be hard for her, but she'll get through it. Just keep her sane."

Then he left, holding the door open long enough for Solange to walk through.

"You talked to Mum and Dad?" I asked.

She nodded wearily, sinking into the seat Mum had just vacated. "Everyone's upstairs packing. What did you want?"

"Could you pack for Lucy and me? I'd do it but I don't want to wake her." I glanced down as I spoke, to make sure Lucy was still asleep.

Solange's gaze took the same path as mine. Looking up again, she smiled weakly. "Sure. Lucy wouldn't trust you to pack for her anyway. Your fashion sense leaves much to be desired."

I smiled at her attempt to lift the mood, "Like yours is any better. Do you even own anything other than jeans and clay-stained T-Shirts." Oddly, arguing with her did make him feel a little bit better, a little bit more normal.

"Could ask you the same question, minus the clay." Her smile fell slightly. Looking down at Lucy again, she asked, "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"She will, in time." I looked down at Lucy too, "You know she's strong. She's propped you up when your world was falling apart. Now it's our turn to return the favour." I smiled, and looked up. "Don't worry little sis, we'll figure this out."

She smiled too and left. I heard her walking upstairs. The house was quiet for a while after that, nothing but the sound of packing, which eventually faded out as the rest of the family went to bed. Leaning my head back and closing my eyes, I finally let exhaustion take over, and drifted off to sleep, my fingers tangled in Lucy's soft hair, the feel of it bringing me comfort.


	7. NOT A CHAPTER AN APOLOGY

*THIS IS NOT AN ACTUAL CHAPTER*

I'm really sorry that I haven't updated, uni has been really tough and now exams are upon us, there's no time for me to write (not that there was before). I'll try and get one last chapter up soon, but I can't promise anything. :-(

However, I will be completely free over the summer, and my current lack of job means I can only afford to do things that don't cost money, which rules out pretty much anything other than reading, writing and watching tv. So look out for updates from 18 June. I'll try and get as much done of there stories as I can in the time I have off. :-)

Again, I'm sorry about the lack of proper updates! xxx


	8. Chapter 6: The Journey

**I'm so sorry for the long gaps between updates. Uni work is trying to kill me at the moment, so finding time to do basic household stuff like washing is a struggle :/. Hope the wait was worth it, and as always please review :)**

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Chapter 6 - The Journey

Lucy's POV

To say the flight was awkward was the understatement of the century. Being stuck on a plane for hours with the entire Drake family casting me sympathetic looks made me want to scream. I knew they weren't trying to make me feel bad, quite the opposite in fact. But all it did was make me think about my parents. Every time I manage to move my thoughts away from that photo, one of them would give me a sad smile or be overly helpful and my mind went snapped straight back to the grim reality I had been thrown into.  
Well I say all the Drakes, but that wasn't fair. Solange and Logan weren't obvious with it; they tried to talk to me about other things, or just left me alone when I didn't have the energy to respond. And Nicholas was, well, he was perfect. It's like he just knew what I wanted, sometimes even before I knew myself. There were times where I found myself being frustrated by my own attempts to distract myself, and he would just hand me a book or my iPod, or talk to me about stupid Youtube videos, and I would find myself calming. And when I needed to talk about what had happened, or just cry he would sit and listen and hold me, and despite the chaos that had become my life, and the overwhelming grief and guilt I felt over the loss of my parents, I felt safe.  
About an hour before we were due to land in Heathrow, Liam handed around a note:

_ When we arrive, someone will be there to greet us. The _  
_ Wiccan are secretive people, who are very conscious of _  
_ tradition and formality. So check yourself before you _  
_ speak, don't make jokes, be polite and formal and don't _  
_ ask any questions. I know that's why we've gone all this _  
_ way, but if we offend them we will never get our answers_  
_ without which we risk losing something very important._

The ghost of a smile played on my lips as I read, knowing that by 'something very important' he meant me. But there wasn't long to savour the warm feeling the note had left me with; as soon as the wheels touched tarmac my stomach dropped and my grip on Nicholas' hand tightened. He squeezed back, and gave me what I'm sure was meant to be a reassuring smile. Unfortunately, I knew him far too well, and I could see panic swirling in his eyes, which I'm sure was mirrored in my own.  
I've never been a patient person at the best of times, and this sure as hell wasn't this, and the wait for the plane to slowly role up to the terminal, for the seatbelt sign to switch off, for other passengers to casually gather coats and pull bags down from the overhead compartments, shuffle down the isle and off the plane was agonising. I fidgeted constantly, earning a few glares from tired travellers. I gave them my best bitch face back, but had a feeling my anger was somewhat spoiled by nerves. By the time we'd reached arrivals I was at breaking point, my eyes darting around the crowds in an attempt to find our help. My hand clasped Nicholas' pocket watch, nervously opening and shutting in.  
Nicholas came up behind me, winding his arm tightly around my waist. Leaning down, he whispered softly in my ear, "You look like you searching for an escape rule, so you can bolt." His tone was trying to be joking and light, but she could hear the true concern hidden underneath. She smiled weakly, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling in.  
"I'm not gonna bolt, idiot. Just planning an escape route in case all," I made a dramatic sweeping gesture with my free arm, "of this is a trap." Nicholas gave me a bemused expression. I pinched his side. "Don't give me that! Several situations of one or all of us needing everyone else to save our arses has taught me caution. Always have a plan B, always have an escape route."  
The rest of the family had crowded round by this point. Logan slid into step with us, giving me a wink as he said, "She's got a point. Plan B should always be there for us." I smiled, and for the first time since my birthday it was a genuine smile. Admittedly a little lackluster due to epic levels of tired, but a smile all the same. It fell quickly as my gaze swept over arrivals. I could see people waiting for relatives and friends, all so happy. This was what it should be like, life. Not near death experiences and epic adventures, just mundane, safe and nice. The crowd began to thin out as we waited. The Wiccan seemed to like control, as far as I could tell, having only told us they would meet us here, but giving us no clue who we were meeting and where we were going. This pissed me off, not just because I hate being out of control, but also because it was us going out of our way to accommodate them, they could have at least been a little bit more forthcoming.  
Eventually us and one other woman were left. To say she wasn't what I was expecting was an understatement. Perhaps having hippie parents and knowing vampires had warped my world view a bit, but the woman in front of me was about as far from Wicca as I could imagine. No beads, of flowey, delicate clothing, nope she was wearing a black tailored skirt suit, simple black heals and had an iPhone in her had which she was busily tapping as she approached us. Looking up, she extended a hand to Liam, "Liam Drake I presume?" she said in a polite, but detached voice.  
"Nice to meet you. I'm afraid we weren't told much so I don't know your name." Liam responded equally politely, but with an equal level of apathy.  
"I'm Clara. I'll be your guide of sorts. Now we're running a bit behind schedule, so if you'll follow me, I'll take you to the cars." And with that she turned a briskly led up out the front to the taxi area, were three black cars were waiting. Nicholas, Logan, Solange, Kieran and I dropped back.  
"Well that was… interesting." Solange whispered, her eyebrows slightly raised in bemusement.  
"Hmmm, definitely not the image "Wicca" first brings to mind." Logan agreed. Me and Nicholas nodded. My eyes never left Clara, whose perfectly straight blonde hair swished along with her brisk assured step. There was something about all of this that put me on edge, but I kept my reservations to myself. Well, I kept my thoughts to myself. Unfortunately my new powers were clearly big on sharing. It was July, the height of the British summer, and the evening are, still tinged with heat from the setting sun should have been pleasantly warm. But the closer we got the car, the lower our microclimate became. The group in front of us either didn't notice, or decided to ignore it, but Nicholas tightened the arm around my waist, Solange took my hand and Logan said in a voice hushed enough that the others wouldn't hear us, "Deep breaths, we don't want to play any cards just yet." His usually mischievousness was gone, his voice calm and deadly serious. I knew he was right, they couldn't know how little I could control this just yet. So I took his advice, breathing deeply, the temperature slowly returning to almost normal.  
When we reached the car, Liam turned. "Me, Helena, Sebastian and Clara will take the first car. Lucy, Nicholas, Logan and Marcus take the next. The rest in the last car." No one questioned this, although I could tell Solange and Kieran would have preferred to stay with drive was quite, with none of us wanting to say anything, certain it was all being reported back to Wicca HQ. The drive took about forty minutes, almost all of which was motorway. We turned off at Junction 11, heading down a long road surrounded by expensive houses and gated communities. About five minutes down this road we turned off at a small private drive almost entirely hidden by trees. The drive went on for a good five minutes before any sign of life was shown. We passed through a large gate, flanked by two gatehouses and several security cameras. Clearly no one went in or out of here without permission. This did not bode well for Plan B. 100 yard past the gate the trees suddenly disappeared, and in front of us was an entire village, at the centre of which stood a green and opposite that a huge white building. The cars circled the green and stopped in front of the building. The drivers got out and opened the doors. As we gathered at the grand steps, my had found Nicholas'. Solange came up on my other side and took that hand, giving it a squeeze. I glanced at both of them, there faces both saying the same thing: We are _sooo_ out of our depth.

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**So there it is :D Again, sorry about the wait. My last exam is on the 15th June, and I'll be home for the summer on 17th, with nothing better to do than write :) As a little side note, to anyone who's interested, the Wiccan village is in about the same place of my own little village, Byfleet. :) Anyways, as always, please review :D x**


	9. NOT AN CHAPTER SORRY :

This isn't an update, I'm sorry. I am suffering from a serious case of writers block with this story. I know where I want the story to go, but I cant figure out how to get it there. I'm so sorry! It's massively frustrating, because I know I'm letting you guys down. But I'm gonna keep trying. I'm on holiday next week, but I'll bring my laptop with me, in case the Irish air provides inspiration. Really, really sorry :(


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